Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Wii)

Crack that whip, give the past the slip.
6/16/2009 6:43 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

One of my favorite point-and-click adventures from the early '90s was LucasArts' Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, the first LucasArts game based on the movie license to feature an entirely original storyline -- a novel concept back in the day. Along with challenging puzzles, the game felt like it was an Indiana Jones adventure, and not some generic tale with the movie IP shoehorned in for the sake of it.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is also based on a unique story rather than stemming from a film, and it does look and feel like an Indiana Jones game (the Harrison Ford sound-alike in the introductory CGI sequence is quite impressive -- so much, in fact, that I asked LucasArts at E3 if it really was him). But the adventure is far from flawless. Instead, it's a slightly above-average game that could've been great, given more care and consideration.

As the wise-cracking (and whip-cracking) adventurer, you set out on an ambitious quest to locate Moses' staff -- yes, the very same one used to part the Red Sea to help the Hebrews flee Egypt nearly 6,000 years ago, as described in the Book of Exodus -- before the Nazis can get their hands on it. In doing so, you'll traipse through the deadly jungles of Panama, explore burial chambers in Istanbul, traverse the snow-capped mountains of Nepal, and fight through the streets of San Francisco's Chinatown. But it doesn't take long to realize you're on a tight leash most of the time -- evidenced by the many invisible walls in place to keep you on track.

Your focus is more on taking down enemies than on exploration, and the Nintendo Wii version offers the most compelling way to control the game. Despite what a couple of other reviewers have written, the Wii version makes good use of Indy's whip: Your Wii Remote can be snapped to inflict damage pull enemies toward you by their feet before you head-butt or punch them; and the Remote and Nunchuk can also be used to throw right and left hooks, respectively. It's also easy to press the A button, when prompted, to pick up a nearby item and use as a weapon. Bashing an enemy's head with a trashcan is certainly enjoyable enough.

Fighting well -- i.e., performing smooth combo sequences -- lets you attempt "glory" moves, optional challenges that unlock extra game modes. Examples of glory moves include killing three enemies in the museum using armor pieces, or shooting four street signs during one of the game's many chase sequences (such as soaring a biplane through eroding canyons or riding on the back of a wild elephant in Turkey).

At times, Indy must also shoot at enemies by using the Remote to aim a reticle and pressing the B (trigger) button, though this is not as fun as the melee combat due to more finicky motion sensitivity. About a third of the way through the game, it took me ages to get through a burning warehouse level because I had issues pointing the controller at the boxes of fireworks (required to destroy platform beams). Inevitably, the gun-toting enemy would kill me first.